Family Is Where Love Rings The Loudest (The Loud House AU)

"Here you go, Linky." Leni leaned over the arm of the couch, extending the glass of water to the boy sitting upon it.

"T-Thank you, Leni," Lincoln replied, taking the water into his hand. Shakily, he brought the cup to his lips, sipping the cool water with a hiccup.

Some time had passed since Lincoln's earlier breakdown. Since then, the family had been extra careful to avoid exacerbating his anxiety, staying close, but not too close to the sensitive little one.

Unfortunately, the needs and errands of daily life would have to pull the various members of the family in different directions. Lynn Sr. had gone to the grocery store with Luan in tow, Rita had received a call and had excused herself to the kitchen, Luna had disappeared not long after Lincoln had stopped crying, and Lynn had absconded upstairs with a determined glint in her eyes soon after as well.

That left Lori and Leni, sitting on both of Lincoln's sides in front of the TV; providing what they hoped to be calming company to him.

Lori bit her cheek and sat forward, tilting her head so she could look at Lincoln. "Feeling better?" She ventured to ask.

"A-A little," Lincoln muttered into his cup. He peered up at the two girls, his eyes still somewhat red and puffy from the tears that had left them. "S-Sor—" He stopped, and looked down. "R-Right, you guys said I had nothing to be sorry about."

Leni smiled winsomely and inched closer to Lincoln, "That's right, Linky. We all cry sometimes. You don't have to apologize for that."

"Yeah, Leni holds the house record for being the biggest crybaby, you got nothing to worry about," Lori added with a smirk.

"Hey!" Leni interjected, sitting higher on her knees with her hands on her hips, "Last time wasn't my fault. I really thought that piece of dust was a spider!"

"Yeah, that made waking us up at 3 in the morning totally okay," Lori mused with a roll of her eyes. She glanced back at Lincoln, "But Leni's right; you literally have nothing to feel sorry about. It's totally cool for you to cry if you need to."

Lincoln's fingers clenched around the cup, whitening further with his grip, "But…" His back tensed, forcing him to grow hunched over the cup in his hands. "You don't think I'm annoying? A pest?"

"What? No way!" Lori shook her head emphatically, "You're not annoying at all, Linc."

"Yeah, you're too cute to be annoying, Linky!" Leni objected.

"Why would you think that?" Lori asked, leaning forward. Better yet, who told you that? She found herself mentally adding with a slight frown.

Lincoln shook his head, frowning as well, "I…I just…" His lower lip shook, "You've just all been so nice to me. I don't wanna bother you too much."

"Lincoln…" Lori pulled his attention to her again with the use of his actual name. Her bright green eyes matched with his aquamarine ones, easing the tension away. "You aren't a bother," She said, kindly but insistently, "Try and put that out of your mind. We brought you here because we want to take care of you."

"Linky…" Leni spoke next, prompting Lincoln to look at her. Her warm smile eased his mind, filling him with a sense of warmth. "Lori's right. You're here because we wanted to bring you into our family." She settled herself down again, "And if you need to cry, then cry; and if you need any kind of help with something, we want to be here for you, to make it better." She gulped and with bated breath, reached out for Lincoln's hand.

Lincoln's grip tightened around his cup, but when Leni's fingers brushed against the back of his hand, the warmth in her digits sapped the fear away. Then, when she edged her fingers around Lincoln's hand, she gently pulled on his palm so she could pull his hand into hers.

"Try and remember that," Leni said, offering a smile that was happy at him for allowing her to take his hand, and sad that he believed he didn't have the right to express emotion. "Okay? We're your family now, and we want you to feel however you need to."

Lincoln tilted his sights down to his hand, folded between Leni's in a little clasped ball of warmth. For the second time that day, one of the Loud daughters had held his hand, and for the second time that day, he found himself feeling much less afraid of harm. The feeling of vulnerability was still there, but the assuredness of oncoming pain felt negligible.

He felt safe, plain and simple.

"Lincoln?" Leni's expression grew puzzled at the far off look in Lincoln's eyes, completely transfixed on their hands. When his attention snapped back to her, she continued with, "Do you understand?"

Lincoln's spacy expression remained, but he nodded. "Uh huh," He replied.

Leni smiled, still bittersweet beneath the surface, and released his hand. "Great," She said. She sat back and looked up at Lori, "Lori, you wanna watch a movie?"

Lori raised an eyebrow, "Whaddya have in mind?"

"Ooh, let's show Lincoln the collection!" And just like that, Leni's spark returned. "I betcha he'd love to see all our Disney movies!"

Lori smirked and jumped from the couch, "Not a bad idea, Leni." She looked at Lincoln, offering her hand to him, "Whaddya say, Linc? Wanna come pick the flick? I'd advise you take us up on that. That is not an option a person gets very often in this house."

Lincoln nodded and reached out to take her hand, "Okay."

Lori grinned and gently pulled Lincoln off the couch, helping him scooch off. "Smart choice, little bro," She chuckled.

"Ooh, wait for me!" Leni said, leaping off the couch in tandem. "Linky, I totes gotta show you my favorites!"

"Don't try and influence him too much, Leni," Lori teased, leading Lincoln towards the bottom shelf beneath the T.V. "We want this to be his choice, right, Linc?"

Lincoln nodded, blushing slightly as he looked up at the two girls, "R-Right."

…

"So, other than the little crying spell he apparently just had, how is Lincoln doing?" The voice of Reggie spoke from the other end of the phone line.

Rita's facial muscles relaxed. She had not expected Reggie to sound so cavalier about Lincoln crying. "O-Oh, he's doing rather well, actually," She stammered.

Reggie chuckled on the other end, "Rita, relax. You think I expected Lincoln to be all smiles and laughs the second I dropped him off with you? Of course he's gonna cry with you guys." He sighed and his cheery tone dropped a bit, "You should've seen how he was when we first took him into our custody. Now that was a worrisome affair…" He took a breath and spoke on, "Frankly, I'm happy to see he's doing so well with you guys. He's already eating and he's freely spending time with your kids? Frankly, I'm surprised."

Rita smiled, suddenly chuckling with relief, "Yeah, I suppose Lynn and I are a little as well. Our girls really have gone above and beyond in making him feel welcome."

"Well, I'm pretty happy to hear that," Reggie replied. The sound of a pen scribbling across paper scratched faintly across the phone. "Now, did you and Lynn manage to go through those files I gave you?"

Rita's chest tightened, "Um, yes we did." She gulped and sat down on the counter, "It was…"

"Rather hard to look through?" Reggie guessed. "Yeah, being up close and in person when the injuries were fresh was way worse, trust me."

"It's just…" Rita brought the heel of her hand against her eye, pushing the water that was starting to accumulate aside. "Who could do that to their child?"

"It's a horrible turn of events," Reggie agreed. "But luckily most of the wounds have healed. Yeah, there'll always be some scars, but we can at least take solace in the fact that he's out of that situation." A few more scratches of a pen across paper got through the line, "So he fell asleep while you guys were having dinner last night, right? I'm guessing that means you guys didn't have a chance to change him into something else then?"

"No, we just put him straight to bed," Rita replied.

"So you actually haven't seen the marks yet," Reggie said. "Well, just remember what I told you and Lynn yesterday. He's a little self-conscious about them, so act accordingly to keep him calm."

"Understood," Rita said, nodding. "We'll be extra careful with him."

"Good," Reggie said. "And one last thing before I let you go; what are your and Lynn's plans for the coming weeks?"

"Oh, yes," Rita said, perking up slightly. "We've decided to take a little time before putting him in school with the girls. In the meantime, Lynn and I will alternate taking Lincoln to work with us."

"Good, good," Reggie spoke in a tone that was indicating he was nodding, "Yeah, I've gotta agree that school might be best put on the back burner for now. Though perhaps in the meantime I'd recommend something to stimulate him mentally in the meantime. Maybe some coloring books or something?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Rita agreed. "I'll give Lynn a call right after this."

"Good, and as I said before, I'll be over in a few weeks to check on progress," Reggie said. "'Til then, I'll let you get back to your day."

"Got it," Rita said. She smiled, "We'll see you then, Reggie."

"I'm looking forward to it," Reggie replied, a smile clear in his voice. "Take care, Rita, and best of luck."

"You as well, Reggie, thanks for calling," Rita said.

"No worries, see ya around," Reggie said.

"Goodbye," Rita concluded.

The beep of the phone call ending chimed in Rita's ear and she brought her cell phone away before setting it down next to her on the counter. She let out a breath through her still tightened chest and leaned back on her hands. Goodness, that was a stressful endeavor, She thought, shaking her head. She brought her hand up to her forehead to wipe the fine sheet of sweat that had accumulated there. It's a good thing Reggie's such a good friend. Other social workers would not be so understanding…

She took a moment to calm herself, getting her heartbeat down to a more manageable level with several soothing breaths. Okay, Rita, pull yourself back together. You gotta call Lynn before he leaves the store.

With a final huff, she picked up her cell phone.

After getting in, she saw her wallpaper; a picture of her and her family, all hunched together to fit into the frame.

Lincoln wasn't there. Rita wanted to fix that as soon as possible. He was her son now, after all.

Poor thing… She thought, her mind's eye bringing up an image of the boy. What I'd give to just wave a magic wand and make every little sad feeling in his little heart disappear. Doubly so to get rid of the marks on him.

She forced herself to open the phone app, bringing up her list of contacts, I…I suppose I'll have to just content myself with the slow and steady method. She scrolled down to Lynn's contact, nicknamed "Hubby", and tapped on it, First things first, let's make sure we have something to keep him entertained tomorrow.

So she did, making the call while the rest of her family went about their day.

…

"Oh no!" Lincoln grabbed Lori's arm, bouncing in his seat while pointing at the TV. "Lori, Robin Hood's disguise fell off!" He squeaked.

Lori giggled, "You're right! What is he gonna do?"

"Is he gonna be able to get out of this and see Maid Marian again?" Leni added with a giggle of her own.

Lincoln looked back to the TV, bouncing more fervently with anxious excitement, "Oh, I hope so!"

"Kids?" At that moment, Rita stepped through the door, stashing her cell phone in her pocket as she approached the couch, "What are you up to?"

"Just watching a flick together," Lori answered.

"We let Linky decide what we'd watch," Leni added. "And he chose Robin Hood!"

"Is that right?" Rita smiled and leaned over the top of the couch, "That was a good choice, Lincoln. This movie's one of my favorites from when I was your age."

Lincoln didn't answer. He was far too transfixed on Robin Hood's profession of love to Maid Marian while in chains.

Rita chuckled. "I think he agrees," She said to her daughters.

"He literally loves it," Lori said, gazing fondly at Lincoln, still with his hands pressed against her arm, lightly gripping it as Robin Hood decried the rule of Prince John.

Rita laughed and stood back up, "Well, I was coming in here to ask if you kids wanted a snack. Anything in mind?"

"Ooh, can you make us a bag of popcorn?" Leni asked, peering up at her mother.

"Oh yeah! With extra butter!" Lori added.

Rita nodded, her beaming expression brightening further at the sight of Lincoln gasping when Robin Hood and the rest of the townsfolk rebelled against Prince John. "Alright then, but I'm bringing out a bowl of grapes too, okay? I want you all to have something healthy to eat as well."

"'Kay," Lori agreed, lightly bobbing her arm with Lincoln's bouncing.

Rita left the three children to their movie, two of them completely entrenched in adoration for Lincoln's undeniable enjoyment of it.

"Hey, Lincoln!" Not long after, however, Lynn's voice rang from the top of the stairs, garnering the attention of the three children on the couch just in time for her to whizz to the front of them. "I finally thought of something we could play!" She announced.

"Lynn…" Lori cut her off with a stern look, "Don't you wanna ask Lincoln how he's feeling first?"

Lynn froze, and the item in her hand lowered with her shoulders. "Oh, right…" She stepped up to the couch, meeting Lincoln's line of sight when she stood on her tiptoes. "Lincoln, are you feeling better?" She asked.

Lincoln turned a little pink and nodded, "Uh huh." He leaned forward, trying to get a glance at what Lynn was holding, "What're those?"

Lynn smiled and lifted up the little netted bag she carried in her hand. "Marbles!" She exclaimed, lightly shaking the sparkling cat's eye orbs for Lincoln to see. "I decided marbles would be the perfect game to play with us stuck inside." She brought her other arm over the couch and lugged herself up, bringing herself next to Lincoln. "Does that sound good to you? If you don't know how to play, I can teach you."

Lincoln blinked and peered at the marbles, taking in their colors with sparkling eyes. "They're pretty…" He observed in a whisper.

Lynn giggled and shook the marbles again, clinking them together and making them sparkle a little more in the light. "I know, I really like them," She said. She set them on the couch and sat up on her knees, "So whaddya say? Wanna play with me?"

"S-Sure," Lincoln answered with a shaky smile. He turned to the TV, where Robin Hood and the rest of the townsfolk were celebrating in the woods, "C-Can we finish the movie first? I really like it."

Lynn grinned, finding her little brother's timid request endearing. "Yeah," She said, scooching back to take a spot next to Leni, "I think this is a good movie too."

"Uh huh," Lincoln earnestly agreed. "Robin Hood is really brave…"

Lori beamed at Lincoln and gently took his hand into hers for a little squeeze, "Just like someone else I know, eh, Linc?"

And Lincoln blushed again in response.

…

So the next hour or so went, with Rita coming back soon after with popcorn and grapes. Not long after that, Lynn Sr. returned home with Luan, both bearing a generous amount of groceries for the upcoming week. Luan joined her siblings on the couch after they helped put the groceries away, and even though Luna politely declined joining them (With Leni frowning slightly in concern in response), the mood remained cheerful.

What's going on with Luna? Leni asked herself as she watched Luna ascend the stairs and disappear into the dimness of the hallway.

"Yaaaay!" Her train of thought was derailed by Lincoln's jubilant cry. She turned towards the ecstatic child, throwing his arms (his casted arm much more stiffly) up into the air. "Robin Hood's okay!" He giddily exclaimed.

"Of course he is." Lori crossed her arms, giving Lincoln a cheery wink, "You think a little fire and some piddly arrows would be enough to take him down? Not a chance!"

"Yeah!" Lynn agreed. "He's faster than fast! He could outrun anything!"

"Haha! And look at Prince John throwing a tantrum!" Luan laughed, pointing at the TV. "What a wuss!"

"He certainly is a sore loser," Rita said.

"I'm personally waiting for my favorite scene," Lynn Sr. said, eyeing Rita warmly. "I think you know the one, right, sweetheart?"

Rita's eyes glittered and she leaned her head against her husband's, "I have an inkling."

Leni tilted her head up towards her parents, "What scene is that?"

"Look at the screen, Leni," Lori advised.

Leni did as she was told, looking back at the screen just as the sounds of church bells rang through the room.

It was the scene following the final confrontation; the scene celebrating the return of King Richard, and the marriage of Robin Hood and Maid Marian. Leni's heart warmed significantly at the scene of the two lovers bursting through the church doors and towards their wedding carriage. "AWW!" She gushed, her hands flying to her cheeks, "I forgot all about this part!"

"That's not really surprising," Luan mused humorously.

"Okay, the movie's over!" Lynn bunched her legs up and sprung off the couch, landing in front of it with her arms out like a tiny gymnast. She turned on her heels, facing her brother with a grin brighter than the absent sun outside, "Ready to play, Linc?"

Lori rolled her eyes, smirking to herself, "Wow, Lynn, impatient much?"

Lynn's eyes narrowed. "No…" She objected with a grumble.

Lori chuckled and set her cheek on her propped-up fist. "You sure? I bet Lincoln would love to see more movies with us." She glanced over at Lincoln with a whimsically smarmy grin, "Wouldn't you, Linc?"

Lincoln blinked, "Um…Yeah, but I wanna play with Lynn, too."

Lynn felt her heart flutter at that. "See?" She said, sticking her tongue out at her eldest sister. "He does want to play."

Lori scoffed humorously and leaned forward, "Oh yeah? What if I promised Lincoln some cookies if he hangs out with us some more?"

Lynn's heart sank. She couldn't compete with cookies. No way, no how. "I—I—He'd still—I spent a long time thinking of something…" She lifted her arm to look dismally at her bag of marbles. Would she have to go upstairs and put them back with her other toys?

"Lori…" Fortunately, Lynn's sibling tease torture was put to rest by the chiding voice of her mother. "Stop teasing your sister," Rita said, taking a spot by Lynn and gently rubbing her back soothingly. "She's been looking forward to this."

"Besides," Lynn Sr. added, taking a seat on the arm of the couch, "I'm pretty sure the three of you have some homework to finish before school tomorrow, don't you?"

Lori, Leni, and Luan all jolted at that.

"Um, now that you mention it…" Lori brought her fingers together, averting her father's eyes in favor of them. "We actually have—the thing is…"

"That's what I thought," Lynn Sr. said, rolling his eyes bemusedly. He hopped up from his spot on the couch. "Alright, all three of you, march on up and get that done then," He said, extending his hand towards the stairs.

"Aww…" This time, the exclamation was uttered out of despondency rather than adoration. Then, like slugs easing down a sidewalk, the three shuffled off the couch and began marching up the stairs, the weight of oncoming schoolwork settling hard on their shoulders.

"Way to go, Lori…" Luan muttered with a quiet huff.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know this would happen?" Lori muttered in response. She turned towards the second floor with a frown. Leave it to Mom and Dad to somehow still remember we have homework the weekend we get a new little brother, She thought somewhat sourly.

The three girls ascended the last step of the stairs, moving into the hallway and towards their rooms.

At least, that was what was intended. When Leni stepped past Luna's door, she froze with a thought.

That's right. Luna. She moved back so she was directly in front of the bedroom door. She seemed upset this morning. And when we asked her if she wanted to watch the movie with us, she said no. A concerned frown crawled across her face and she looked down at her hands. What's wrong with her? Should I ask her? She thought about it for a moment, before she came to a conclusion brought about by what Lori called, "The Big Sister Instinct". Of course I should! She thought. What kind of sister would I be if I didn't?

She reached for the doorknob, stopping a split second before she grabbed it. Oh, I almost forgot. I need to knock first!

She raised her hand, hovering it near the wood for a moment, then knocked.

…

The vibrations of someone knocking on her door snapped Luna's focus on the music in her ears, bringing her mind down from the transcendental realm of music and down to the cloudy and rainy weather of planet Earth. Immediately, the worries and feelings of self-loathing returned, putting a pang in her heart that asked her to just ignore the knock and to simply crank the music up louder.

But that would be impolite, and that simply would not do.

"Coming," She said, pulling the headphones off and setting them on her desk, next to her finished homework. She sauntered towards the door, reaching out to take the doorknob.

Leni offered her a smile and a little wave when the opened door revealed her. "Hi!" She said jovially, her grin lighting up the dismal surroundings just a bit.

"Hi, Leni," Luna said mutely.

"Can I come in?" Leni asked.

"Sure," Luna replied, opening the door wider and gesturing her in.

Leni stepped into the room, turning towards Luna after she closed the door behind her. "We missed you earlier," She said when they faced each other.

Luna brought her hand to scratch the back of her head, "Um, yeah, I just wanted to finish my homework early."

Leni giggled at that, "That's so you." She mimicked Luna slightly, instead scratching her cheek instead of her head, "But…Didn't you want to spend time with Lincoln?"

Luna's shoulders locked and her hands lowered along with her eyes, "O-Of course I did, I just…" Her mind brought up the events of the previous night, where her self-perceived act of shame shone garishly bright upon her conscience. "I just felt—really bad about Lincoln."

Leni frowned, her own heart aching a little at the memory of the poor boy's breakdown in the living room. "I know…it was super hard seeing the poor little thing just—just crying super hard. It really made my heart hurt…"

Luna's eyes widened, "Wait, you were there too?"

Leni's head quirked to the side, blinking owlishly, "Of course I was there. Don't you remember? We all were there."

Luna shook her head, confusion and the first fledges of pain beginning to flash across her expression. "What do you mean? The whole family was in the hallway last night?"

Leni's face shifted to match Luna's, equally as confused, but absent of the pain, "Whaddya mean? We were in the living room, not the hallway."

Luna looked like she had just been slapped clean across the face. Then, her eyes watered. "Oh no…" The tears rolled down her cheeks, alerting Leni into taking a step forward.

"Luna?" She queried frightfully.

"No, no, no, no…" Luna shook her head and fell to her knees, bringing her palms to her cheeks. "No, no, no, no!"

"Luna, what's the matter?" Leni asked, joining her sister on the ground, hands extending out towards her.

"I didn't want anyone to know!" Luna cried, bringing her hands over her eyes.

"Didn't want anyone to know what? What happened?" Leni asked, growing more and more worried.

"I didn't want anyone to know what a bad sister I am!" Luna exclaimed, trembling before Leni.

Leni gasped, "You? A bad sister? No way! What could make you think you're a bad sister?"

"I-I-I…" Luna hiccupped, struggling to get air into her lungs.

Leni moved closer to Luna, setting her hands on her shoulders, "Luna, take a breath, for me, please? Whatever's worrying you probably isn't that bad."

Luna disagreed, but she did as Leni requested, taking several, near convulsive breaths. Her lungs rattled with each intake of air, actually somewhat painful in her chest. Still, she persisted, wheezing with each gasp until she was at a place somewhat resembling a calmer disposition.

"There we go…" Leni whispered. She squeezed Luna's shoulder's tenderly, "Now, do you want to tell me what's bothering you?"

Luna took a much clearer breath through her nose, relaxing her shoulders and easing the tension in a grunt of momentary pain. "I—I'm worried what you'll think."

"Well you can go ahead and put that out of your mind," Leni chirped, offering an encouraging smile. "Nothing can make me think less of you, Luna." She took a hand off her shoulders in exchange for taking her hand. "So go ahead and say what you need to say. I'm here for you."

Luna found herself wishing she was as good a sister as Leni was. Even with her heart hammering in her chest, Leni somehow coaxed her attention away from it. She couldn't explain why, but she did feel safe.

"I…" Luna gulped and looked down, "Last night, I was getting a glass of water. After I got it, I came back upstairs. But before I got to my room, I—I heard Lincoln…"

She sniffled and lifted her gaze towards her sister, "Leni, he was crying. He had just had a nightmare. He was all alone, just crying and wishing they would stop. I saw the whole thing and…" Her lower lip trembled and the tears fell anew. "And I just ran away. I didn't know what to do and I ran away; I left Lincoln, scared and all alone in the middle of the night." She shook and another choked sob escaped. "I left him all alone, like some sort of heartless witch! If it wasn't for that toy you made him, who knows if he would've been able to calm down." She coughed a watery cough and brought her hands flat on the ground, "Because I wouldn't have done it. Knowing that, who could say that I'm fit to be anyone's sister? I know I wouldn't…"

"Luna…" Leni's tone was soft, soothing to Luna's frazzled and frayed emotions, "You're being too hard on yourself." She reached out and gently tilted her face up so they could look at each other. "This is a new experience for all of us. You can't blame yourself for doing that, a lot of us wouldn't have known what to do; I'm sure I wouldn't have."

Luna snorted in slight derision, "Really, Leni? I'm pretty sure most people know that if you see a little kid crying, you go and comfort them."

Leni shook her head, "You'd be surprised. If I was there, I'd be frozen to the spot for a good while. Then I'd probably run off to get Mom or Dad."

"At least you'd do that," Luna huffed, her sadness shifting more into anger at herself. "I just ran away, like a coward."

"Don't call yourself that," Leni whispered. "Luna, this is understandable, I promise."

Luna looked to the ground again, biting her lip, "Say what you want, I still think what I did was wrong." Her hands clenched against the carpet, "Lincoln's in a lot better hands with you guys…"

Leni was at a bit of a loss. If she couldn't convince Luna she was fine in her little faux pas, what could she do? What would Lori do? She thought, bringing her palm up to rest beneath her chin.

"Maybe turn into the skid? If Luna wants to feel bad, recommend something that has her try and fix it her way." Her conscience, coincidentally bearing Lori's voice, spoke up, bringing a solution to the forefront of her mind.

"Um…Luna?" Leni's next couple of words came out stilted and unsure. However, when Luna actually faced her, the words came up faster, a little more self assured. "If you feel bad about what you did, even though I think it's nothing to beat yourself up over, wouldn't it be better to just move past it? No matter what happened, we still want you around, and we're all gonna need help taking care of Lincoln." She regarded Luna imploringly, "Don't you wanna help? You do care about Lincoln, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Luna's response was strongly emphatic, putting a spark of determination into her that had her sitting up a little taller. "That's why I feel so bad about last night. He's…" Her moment of passion passed, and her stature wilted again, "He always looks so hurt. I'd give anything to make him feel just a little bit better, anything."

"Same with us," Leni replied, smiling softly. She took Luna's hands into hers again, "So what good is beating yourself up over one little mistake when you can only improve from here? Luna, Lincoln is totally super sweet. I bet if he knew about this, he'd forgive you in an instant. He just wants to feel safe, and that's what we, and you should focus on."

Luna absorbed Leni's words, averting her gaze and biting her lip thoughtfully, "I…You really think I can help him? What if I mess up and he winds up not liking me."

Leni giggled at that, "I don't think that's possible. One, family wouldn't do that, and he's family to us now. Secondly, like I said, he's totes sweet! He'll love you; I just know it!"

Luna's lips quirked somewhat doubtfully again, but she nodded all the same. "Okay then," She agreed, "I'll focus on spending time with him. I wanna make sure he knows I'm glad he's my brother now."

Leni grinned brightly, "Great!"

Luna's eyes quirked downward again, "Still, I wanna ask again. Do you really think what I did wasn't so bad?"

Leni's grin softened, and without any heads up, she pulled Luna into a hug, wrapping her in a warm embrace and setting her cheek against her temple. "Most definitely," She said resolutely. "Because no matter what you might think; Luna, you are a great sister."

Luna didn't respond at first. She just wrapped her arms around Leni in return and rolled her cheek onto her shoulder. "Thanks, Leni," She said with a sniffle.

And the two sisters sat there, embracing one another and putting the guilty feelings Luna felt to rest.

…

"Okay, you two, I think this should set you up nicely." Lynn Sr. pulled on the edges of the tied-up circle of pink string, evening it out to a more or less smooth edge.

"Thanks, Daddy!" Lynn said exuberantly. She settled next to the string ring, bringing the bag of marbles onto the floor alongside her. Next to her, Lincoln sat as well, albeit much more slowly due to him having to mind his cast.

"T-Thank you," Lincoln said as well.

Lynn Sr. offered Lincoln a small smile in return. "Okay, play nice, you two," He said, standing to his feet, ruffling his daughter's hair and very gently tapping Lincoln on the top of his, earning himself a slight cringe from the boy that faded a second or so after.

"We will!" Lynn replied, turning to Lincoln just as his eyes opened again. She beamed at him cheerily and his anxiety faded from his face, shifting more into something more akin to embarrassment.

Meanwhile, Lynn Sr. stepped up behind his wife on the couch. "I'll be in the kitchen getting started on dinner. You okay here?" He asked.

Rita chuckled and glanced at him with a bemused eye roll, an action she had very much passed down to Lori, "I think I can handle it."

Lynn Sr. clicked his tongue good naturedly. "Just checking," He playfully groused, leaning down to peck her on the cheek before departing for the kitchen.

"Okay, Linc." Lynn set to getting the game ready right away. Carefully, she plucked out about fifteen marbles, taking several handfuls to do so and set them within the circle, placing each marble an equidistant space from one another. "The game is simple," She said after placing the final marble near the opposite edge of the ring from which they sat. "The goal is to try and knock out and collect more marbles than the other person." She reached into the marble bag and pulled out a few other marbles, these ones noticeably bigger than the ones within the ring. "To do that, we use these; our shooter marbles." She held her hand out to Lincoln, extending the marbles in her grasp towards him, "Here, I'll let you have first pick. Pick any marble you want."

Lincoln tilted himself towards Lynn's hand. Each marble gleamed bright in the light of the living room, their little cat's eye swirls acting as vibrant bolts of color within each of their painted glass surfaces.

There were six shooter marbles in total, each with their own little color combo. One was light blue with a yellow cat's eye, another a subtle teal color with a white cat's eye, the next a dark purple with a lighter lavender cat's eye, the one after that a bright yellow with a red cat's eye, the next one red with a silver cat's eye, and the last, a bright orange with a blue cat's eye.

Lincoln couldn't explain it, but he was drawn to the orange one; so he reached out and took it between his index and pointer fingers.

"Good choice!" Lynn giggled, internally noting the way the marble matched Lincoln's outfit. "As for me, I'm going with my old standby." She brought her hand back to the marble bag and funneled four of the remaining five marbles back into it, leaving only the red and silver one in her hand afterward. "Now, you want me to take the first turn? Show you how to do it?" She asked.

"Yes, please," Lincoln replied with a nod.

Lynn complied and hunkered down in front of the ring. "Okay, first, you wanna get the marble right in front of your thumb, like this." She held her partially curled up fist to Lincoln, showing him up close how she held the marble against the knuckle of her thumb. "Then, you wanna get right down here in front of the marbles." She laid flat on her belly, bringing her fist in front of her face, "Then, all you gotta do is aim…" She closed a single eye and swayed her hand to line up with a marble inside the ring, her tongue poking out the corner of her lip as she focused, "And shoot!"

Her thumb sprang from inside her fist, tapping her thumbnail against the marble. The marble shot forward onto the ground, bouncing over one marble and then colliding with another one behind it, sending that marble on a lazy roll to the string border where it rolled and bounced right over onto the outside carpet.

"Yes!" Lynn said in a self-satisfied whisper, her fist doing a little pump at her side. She got back onto her knees and snatched up the marble. "So that's a point for me," She explained, turning back to Lincoln. "We each take turns trying to knock out as many marbles as we can. Whoever has the most by the end of the game wins. Easy-peasy, right?"

Lincoln nodded, glancing down at his own shooter marble for a split second. "Mmhmm," He mumbled affirmatively.

"Great!" Lynn said. She scooted back, giving Lincoln space to get close to the ring, "Then it's your turn. Go ahead, give it a try."

Lincoln did as she demonstrated, slowly and troublingly getting down on his belly with the marble grasped in his good hand and his casted arm sticking out from his torso at what was undoubtedly a rather uncomfortable angle. Still, he persisted, wincing when his broken arm twinged slightly, but keeping his focus on his shooter marble. Brimming with determination (And looking rather adorable in Lynn and Rita's opinion), Lincoln tucked his thumb into his fist and rolled his marble in front of his knuckle, just as Lynn had shown him…

And flicked the marble away.

Unfortunately for him, however, the marble did not sail smoothly into the ring as Lynn's did. No, instead, the marble absolutely sprang into the air, soaring into a straight vault, catching the light of the living room in a brilliant glimmer before falling with a tiny thud in between the pages of the magazine Rita had on her lap.

Lynn burst out laughing and Rita looked down at her lap with an amused smirk. "Whoops," Rita chuckled, picking up the marble between her fingers, "I think that got away from you, Lincoln, sweetie."

"I'm sorry!" Lincoln's voice rose several octaves, and he leapt to his feet, taking several clumsy steps back as he did so. "I-I didn't m-mean to! Please don't be mad, I just—I just wanted to—" His breaths were starting to shorten concernedly, and his wide, quivering eyes were beginning to water fearfully.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Rita got up from the couch, kneeling down to the two children, "Lincoln, sweetie, it's okay. We know it was just an accident," She soothed.

Lincoln took another step back, accidentally catching one of his shoelaces and falling back into a sitting position with a squeak. "I-I-I…" He hiccupped in the middle of his stammer, putting a stop to it.

"Lincoln, we're not mad at you." Lynn spoke up next, moving in between her mother and her little brother. She took the marble out of Rita's hand and held it out to Lincoln, "We actually thought it was funny."

Lincoln blinked, dispelling the water in his eyes and looked at Lynn. "Y-You're not angry at me?" His breaths were evening out and his pinprick pupils seemed to be relaxing once more.

"Nope, not one bit!" Lynn exclaimed, shaking her head. "All you did was send a marble into the air. Trust me, I've done worse.

You certainly have, Rita thought, beaming at Lynn.

"So don't worry about it," Lynn went on. She reached out and took Lincoln's hand, surprising both him and her mother for a split second. She seemed to not notice the tension that overtook Lincoln though, as she seemed too busy with putting his marble back in his hand. "Let's just keep playing,"

Lincoln looked between Lynn and his hand, lying within Lynn's palm as the other hand deposited the marble back into his. "O-Okay," He mumbled. "But…" He turned his sights down to the carpet, his face reddening slightly. "I don't think I'm very good at this. Not like you are."

"Well, that's what I'm here for!" Lynn chirped instantly. "I'm more than happy to teach you, Lincoln. That's what big sisters do!"

Lincoln seemed at a little bit of a loss on what to say next. Before the exuberant energy of Lynn, his fear was quelled, not the same way like Lori or Leni did for him. No, with Lynn, it was more like the anxiety was completely squashed by the absolute excitement Lynn seemed positively filled to the brim with. "Alright…" He replied a little cautiously.

Rita watched the two of them, Lincoln lying back on his belly before the ring, Lynn lying next to him and taking his hand again to show him how to shoot the marble. Oh, sweetheart, She thought, rising from the floor to sit back up on the couch, I'm so proud of you. You really are going to be an amazing big sister; I just know it!

And judging by the way Lynn's face lit up when Lincoln successfully knocked a marble out a moment later, and the small smile Lincoln gave in response, she was right.

…

"Wow, good work, Lincoln!" Lynn held her marble filled hand next to Lincoln's. "Six to nine, you really gave me a run for my money there on those last few games!"

Lincoln blushed and jostled the marbles in his palm, staring at the glittering colors. "Thanks," He said. He smiled at Lynn, "I…I had a lot of fun."

Lynn's eyes widened and a surge of pure, undeniable joy came over her. "Me too," She said, her own cheeks reddening as she smiled.

"Can we play again sometime?"

And it was with that question that Lynn somehow became even happier. "Of course!" She bombastically replied, her hands flying into the air. "Lincoln, if you're ever bored, or just want someone to hang out with at all, just come find me. I'll play with you day or night, rain or shine!"

Lincoln's twiddling fingers fell and his tense stature eased. "That sounds fun," He said, smiling bashfully. He hazarded a quick look at Lynn, making eye contact before his shyness overtook him again, "I'm glad. You're really nice, Lynn."

Once again, Lynn had to restrain herself from hugging her new little brother. For all her bravado she may have shown to Lincoln, she was still very much holding back for the sake of not intimidating him. Being the one in the family whose passion was always so close to the surface, her competitive and challenge seeking nature had on many more than one occasion gotten her quite a few scoldings from her parents, and quite a few choice names from her sisters.

Brat. Pest. Twit. Those were just a few of the names given to her during many of those moments where she unintentionally earned one of her sister's ire. True, they had mostly come about following an accidental breaking of an item or an unintended bonk on the head from a wayward ball, but she always said she was sorry, and even though the incident was usually smoothed over by day's end and they would be on good terms again, the names stuck and left Lynn on more than one occasion, shedding quiet tears in her pillow at night.

So when Lincoln told her she was nice, coupled on with the facts that he had told Lori he preferred to play with her and the earlier event of him telling her he was glad she was his big sister; poor Lynn had to take a moment to look away to wipe her eyes.

"Lynn, are you okay?" Lincoln asked, tilting his head.

Lynn brought her arm up to wipe her nose with a sniffly breath. "Y-Yeah," She replied, turning back to Lincoln with hopefully clear eyes. "I just got a bit of dust in my eyes, no biggie."

Lincoln straightened his head, regarding Lynn for a moment before he nodded. "Okay," He said, smiling a little.

Rita, however, was not so easily fooled. She saw the look of overwhelming emotion come over her daughter's face, the moment where her heart undoubtedly swelled to near bursting with abundantly clear adoration for the newest member of their family. Oh, sweetheart, She thought, lifting a finger to wipe a tear. I'm so happy you're taking to this so well.

"Do you wanna play another game?" Lincoln asked.

"Yeah!" Lynn replied, her voice clear once more.

"DINNER TIME!" Unfortunately for the two of them, that was the moment Lynn Sr. poked his head in from the dining room, announcing that the decadent scent that had been floating in from the kitchen had finally manifested into a meal.

Rita laughed and stood up, "It looks like you two are going to have to take a raincheck on that."

One of Lynn's eyebrows rose and she looked to the window, "Raincheck? It's already raining."

Rita laughed again and kneeled down to the two children. "Never mind," She said. She extended her hands towards the two of them, "The point is, dinner's ready."

"Awww…" Lynn set her marbles back in the ring and stood up, taking her mother's hand. "We were just about to play another game."

"There'll be time for games later," Rita chuckled. "But we don't want dinner to get cold now, do we?"

"I guess not," Lynn sighed. She looked at Lincoln, who was still sitting on the ground, cautiously looking at Rita's outstretched hand. "You coming, Lincoln?"

"Um…" Lincoln bit his lip, lifting his hand shakily towards Rita's. "I…"

"Don't worry, Lincoln." Rita leaned down to Lincoln again, stretching her hand a little further. "I've got you, same as your sisters."

Lincoln continued to stare at his new mother's hand. He gulped and his shoulders rose against his neck, hurting it a little.

"Lincoln." Then, Lynn spoke up. His eyes traced over from Rita's hand to Lynn's face, stopping only for a second on their clasped hands before going fully over to Lynn.

"This is our mommy," She said. "She's not going to hurt you."

Unfortunately for Lynn, she had said the word that Lincoln really did not need to hear at that moment. His body tensed significantly, putting a strong pinching pain into his back that left him looking like he had just been turned into a statue.

Rita saw this, and it took considerable effort not to react. What I'd do to get my hands on that woman… She thought, a vestige of rage bubbling in her heart. She took a quick silent breath to dispel that emotion and instead craned herself down to Lynn. "Lynn, why don't you lead Lincoln to the table? You can sit next to him if you want."

"Okay…" Lynn said, still not distracted enough to not notice Lincoln's skyrocket in tension. She released her mother's hand and went up to Lincoln, holding out her own for him to take. "Lincoln, do you wanna come with me to the table?"

Lynn's voice thankfully proved enough to snap him out of it. With a jolt, Lincoln returned from wherever he had been and looked upon his sister. "Um, yes, please," He replied with a shaky vibrato.

From then on, it was a little bit of a muted affair. Lincoln took Lynn's hand and she pulled him up; and even with the heartwarming sight of Lynn leading Lincoln to the dining room with his hand safely clasped in hers, Rita couldn't get the dismal feeling to lift from her heart.

It wasn't fair. No child deserved the trauma that Lincoln carried.